ETHICS IN ENGINEERING Lecture 2/4

REVIEW OF TOPIC FROM LECTURE 1

You are an employer at a large multinational

software firm. You put an ad on Monster.com for

software engineers to design a new product.

You get a bunch of applications, but two stand out

based on the applicants’ previous internships and the

high quality of their communication skills in the

interviews.

The first student has almost all A grades, but came

from a university where several cheating scandals

have been reported in the paper. The other applicant

has mostly B grades, but came from a university well

known for strictly enforcing integrity?

Who would you hire?

THIS REALLY HAPPENS

Insider: UNC tolerated cheating – Charlotte

Observer Nov. 18, 2012

U.S. News strips George Washington University

of ranking for cheating – Nov 15, 2012

Cheating scandal rocks Harvard University –

NECN.com – August 31, 2012

An assistant registrar was accused of changing

hundreds of student grades at Southern

University – 2003

Diablo Valley College students were accused of

trading sex for grade changes - 2007

OUTLINE:

Review Pentium Case

From Codes to Cases

Moral Considerations

Moral Reasoning & Case Analysis

PENTIUM CASE

Turn to your neighbor(s) and discuss

the following:

What course of action could Intel

have taken to satisfy their customers

and minimize the negative publicity

they received?

PENTIUM CASE

Discuss this with your neighbor(s):

In the literature that comes with a

product a manufacturer places a

warning such as “This product may

contain unexpected flaws and might

not operate correctly under all

conditions.”

Does this solve the ethical problems

for the company?

CLICKER QUESTION

What do you think (there is no right answer):

In the literature that comes with a product a manufacturer places a warning such as “This product may contain unexpected flaws and might not operate correctly under all conditions.”

Does this solve the ethical problems for the company?

A. Yes

B. Sort of

C. No

PENTIUM CASE

Was there really an ethical

dilemma? If so what was it?

A dilemma is a problem offering two possibilities, neither

of which is practically acceptable

Part 1: From Codes to

Cases

GOING BEYOND THE CODE

The code of ethics for engineers gives us a good

set of guides to follow.

But knowing what the codes say and what

exactly to do in a given situation is not always

obvious.

The primary reason is that really hard ethical

situations require moral reasoning and conflict

resolution.

WHERE WE WILL BEGIN

To start our exploration into case analysis, we

will simply begin by looking at some cases.

Our goal is to engage in a form of moral

reasoning about the cases, which involves:

Taking note of which codes of engineering ethics

apply.

Identifying conflicts.

Making a choice of what to do.

All of this will lead us to a discussion of moral

considerations and moral reasoning.

ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS

Rights Approach

Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake?

Utilitarian Approach

Which option will produce the most good and do the least

harm?

Justice Approach

Which option treats people as I want to be treated?

Ethic of Care Approach

Which option is best for those most in need?

Virtue Approach

Which option leads me to act as a responsible person?

CASE 1: PROTECTING THE

SAFETY OF SOCIETY

Your employer asks you to design a bridge that will

not exceed $1 million to build. After doing a study

you determine the following:

a) An ideal bridge can be built for $1.5 million.

b) Given the design constraints, a bridge built for

$1 million will collapse in a moderate

earthquake.

c) A bridge built for $1.25 million will survive a

moderate earthquake, but will collapse in an

infrequent extreme earthquake.

Photographed by David Hermeyer

CASE 1: PROTECTING THE SAFETY OF

SOCIETY

Suppose your employer says, “if we don’t build

the bridge for $1 million, then we are going to

have to lay off half of the staff, including you.”

He further asks you to go ahead with the next

stage of the project.

What do you do?

http://www.leydenscience.org/bridges/college.htm

CLICKER QUESTION

What do you think is the primary conflict:

A.Your duty to your fellow employees vs. your

duty to your boss

B.Your duty to society vs. your loyalty to your

own career

C.Uncertainty about the maximum

magnitude of an earthquake vs. the need to

ensure a safe structure.

D.Your duty to be honest to clients vs. your

duty to complete the project

WHAT IS THE CONFLICT?

The code of ethics for engineers requires:

You to take the safety of society as being of

paramount importance.

However, you also feel a personal sense of loyalty

to your company and fellow co-workers. You don’t

want anyone to lose their job.

The conflict is between your duty to society and

your loyalty to your own career and the welfare of

your other fellow employees.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT?

The conflict is between your future employment

and the employment of others in your company,

and the welfare of society.

In a case like this the welfare of society comes

first.

We have to take into account the fact that your

duty to protect the public is greater than your

duty to your own career, and that of your fellow

employees.

CASE 2: TELLING THE TRUTH IN PUBLIC

STATEMENTS

You are asked by the government to verify that a certain nuclear reactor will not leak toxic substances into the neighboring ocean.

After doing a study you discover that:

a) The nuclear reactor likely will leak within the coming 8 years, but there is significant uncertainty.

b) The nuclear reactor cannot be evaluated more carefully unless it is shut down immediately.

c) Both the ocean and the neighboring community are at risk.

CASE 2: TELLING THE TRUTH IN PUBLIC

STATEMENTS

Suppose that upon receiving your report,

government officials ask you to modify your

report so as to reflect that the nuclear facility is

actually safe.

They claim that altering the report will protect

the public in the area, preventing panic while the

government attempts to shut down and fix the

facility.

What do you do?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diablo_canyon_nuclear_power_plant.jpg

WHAT IS THE CONFLICT?

The code of ethics requires that you

Safeguard the public’s welfare.

But it also requires that you

Tell the truth when making public statements

concerning your area of engineering.

To solve this conflict, you must

correctly understand what each code is telling you,

and

choose to act on the obligation that is of priority.

WHAT IS THE CONFLICT?

What does protecting the public mean?

Making sure that they are safe

What does issue public statements in an

objective and truthful manner mean.

Telling the public the nuclear reactor may not be

safe, but outlining the uncertainties.

But the government is asking you to alter your

report in order to protect the public.

WHAT IS THE CONFLICT?

Your obligation is to safeguard public safety

and to tell the truth in your role as an engineer.

This means that you cannot alter data as an

engineer, and that you must tell the truth about

the nuclear reactor.

The government is calling on you as a citizen to

alter documents as a way to protect your fellow

citizens.

The conflict is between your obligations as an

engineer and your obligations as a citizen.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT?

Role conflicts are hard!!!

No easy answer!!!

This is where thinking about other moral considerations matter.

What about the public’s right to know?

What about the government’s obligation to tell the truth?

In this case your duty as an engineer to tell the truth when making public statement trumps your civic duty to be loyal to your government.